For those interested in the S-100

[clh333]

FYI:

Today UPS delivered three boxes containing a total of two Shugart 800s, four Shugart 801s and approximately 60 disks which clearly are from the S-100 era: They are all 8-inch, some have Micro Cornucopia Big Board labels and the like.

I do not own an S-100 system: I bought the Shugarts; the disks were a throw-in. I'll try to report back shortly with an inventory of labels.

The Shugarts are all dirty and two suffered damage in transit. There will be a claim to file with UPS and it will be a while before I am able to assess their operability. But I'm going to try; I've learned something by working on an 850 and I'll ask for guidance as necessary.

I'll let you know what I find.

-CH-

 

[Dwight Elvey]

Check that the metal part that the disk rides on is not swelled. If these were in a moist environment the pot metal hub can swell. If you put a disk on one of these it will damage the center. I've had to replace one to make one good machine out of two, once.
Dwight

 

[clh333]

Check that the metal part that the disk rides on is not swelled. If these were in a moist environment the pot metal hub can swell. If you put a disk on one of these it will damage the center. I've had to replace one to make one good machine out of two, once.
Dwight

Pot metal?! You mean these weren't machined from a solid block of titanium?

(Thank you for your reply, Dwight. I hope you are comfortable during these trying times.)

A couple of these were slightly damaged during shipment and they all need a good cleaning. If one out of every two works I'll be happy.

-CH-

 

[clh333]

I have inventoried the 60+ disks, all of which appear to be related to the Big Board II computer.

A spreadsheet containing a list of the titles and any other information on labels is here:

(https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aj1e6GswiRiQ0igr_8GPy5wqsihKMaqO/view?usp=sharing)

-CH-

 

[ldkraemer]

WOW! Lots of good files in the mix. What are your plans for Archiving all those floppy's
without taking the chance of destroying them? Kryoflux, Catweazle, GreaseWeazle, DiskFerret,
SuperCard Pro? Imagedisk or Teledisk? If you post on Google Drive or some server, I'd like to
have a look at each IMD or TD0 file. It's fun to dig through all those Images.

Most 8" Floppy's survive longer than the 5.25" Floppy's, which start shredding their Oxide onto
the Floppy's Head(s). I know I waited about 10 years too long to backup my Radio Shack TRS-80
Model 1's Floppy's on fresh media. Lost all the floppy's as each one deposited the brown oxide
on my Floppy's head(s).

On another note, I've got a version of PFM that I recovered from several Big Board Images, that you
may be interested in. I sent the Source to Al at Bitsavers, but I don't think he captured and posted,
the final update. I'll have to dig a bit to locate it, if you are interested.

Larry

 

[maxtherabbit]

I don't think you can get teledisk anymore, so imagedisk should be the logical choice. All those flux formats are useless to people who are using real FDCs.

 

[clh333]

I don't think you can get teledisk anymore, so imagedisk should be the logical choice. All those flux formats are useless to people who are using real FDCs.

As it happens, I do; from a 5.25-inch disk titled "Sydex Software Sampler" dating back ~35 years. But as Sydex has transferred license to another (anonymous, probably three-lettered) organization, and they have removed it from the market, I would hesitate to employ TD for this task for fear that Sydex might be held accountable.

In addition, I wouldn't take any chances with these disks; Al has made the point that imaging such disks with unknown equipment is risky and I don't have anything but suspect 8-inch drives. In view of their obvious relevance, and potential significance, I move that we find someone who is both willing and certified to image them. I'll be happy to listen to your suggestions as to who that might be.

Al volunteered Chuck for the task of imaging Displaywriter disks, but Chuck has his hands full right now. And I'd like to find somebody a little closer to home, in part because I am loath to risk shipping them again; they just came all the way from Portland, OR. Why ship them back?

-CH-

 

[maxtherabbit]

As it happens, I do; from a 5.25-inch disk titled "Sydex Software Sampler" dating back ~35 years. But as Sydex has transferred license to another (anonymous, probably three-lettered) organization, and they have removed it from the market, I would hesitate to employ TD for this task for fear that Sydex might be held accountable.

In addition, I wouldn't take any chances with these disks; Al has made the point that imaging such disks with unknown equipment is risky and I don't have anything but suspect 8-inch drives. In view of their obvious relevance, and potential significance, I move that we find someone who is both willing and certified to image them. I'll be happy to listen to your suggestions as to who that might be.

Al volunteered Chuck for the task of imaging Displaywriter disks, but Chuck has his hands full right now. And I'd like to find somebody a little closer to home, in part because I am loath to risk shipping them again; they just came all the way from Portland, OR. Why ship them back?

-CH-

I have a fully tested and vetted 8" setup for SSSD and could image them with IMD. But I would not call myself "certified" not sure anyone is handing out 8" disk certifications these days, maybe the chair force?

 

[mykrowyre]

Wow what a score I hope these disks can be recovered.

 

[Mal]

Hi CH - The disks are a great find. I'm all setup for reading and writing 8" disks also, with known good drives. It would be great if these could be made available to maxtherabbit or myself to image. I'd be happy to pay the one-way shipping costs if that helps, and to post the ImageDisk images online within 30 days. The downside is that I am in Australia, so MTR might be a better option? I have a BB1 and BB2 so pretty keen to see these images made available one way or another!